


Revelations of the past revealed

by INeedALifeOtherThenFanFiction



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Gen, Mentions of past drug use, OOC Reid and possibly team, Spencer needs a hug, The team finds out about Tobias, slight season 12 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:02:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INeedALifeOtherThenFanFiction/pseuds/INeedALifeOtherThenFanFiction
Summary: On the plane ride home after a case, a couple months after the new mexico fiasco and after reid gets out of prison, the team gets more then they bargained for when a certain event from reids past comes to light. What will the team think? what is going through reid's head? And can Rossib get through to Reid?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	Revelations of the past revealed

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. This is probably trash. I had an idea for Rossi, Luke, Tara and Matt finding out about Reid's past with Tobias and this was the result. Only correcting is done by word spell check and for anyone who doesn't know i am not american so there may be words spelt the british/Australian way instead of the american way. Sorry bout that for any americans reading this. But what can ya do? Any who enjoy. PLease give feed back etc... Onto the story. Oh and this was inspired by a combination of fics that have the same prompt which is the team finding out about the drug use so...

The plane ride home was one that felt like it went on forever. Everyone was feeling the emotional side of the last case. A young drugee that felt there was no other escape and would not be talked down. Reid got up out of his seat, heading towards the coffee machine at the back of the plane, JJ and Prentiss’ gaze not so subtly following his every move. It was quite obvious that the genius felt like shit and couldn’t sleep. What was more apparent though was that JJ and Prentiss seemed to know exactly what was bothering the youngest member of their misfit family. The whispered or otherwise silent conversation between them more then noticeable, making the other team members look between them and Reid like a tennis match, only managing to piss Reid off more than usual which was easily achievable after his time in prison. Even with half the attention on Reid, nearly the entire team managed to miss the fact that Reid was consistently scratch the crook of his right elbow. It was Alvez who was brave enough to not only break the silence but also open the line of conversation that the others were curious about but could tell was a dangerous can of worms to open.

“Hey, Reid. You alright man?”

“Yeah, fine. Been having a couple rough nights lately.” Was Reid’s gruff answer as if he had anticipated this. Which he no doubt had.

“Really spence? I mean the case was a rough one and with everything that happened in the last couple of months you know we wouldn’t judge if you talked to us. Especially after having to shoot the unsub yourself.”

“I said I’m fine JJ. Can’t you just leave it at that?”

“No spence I can’t just leave it at that.”

“Why not?”

“You know exactly why Reid. Were you aware that you were scratching your elbow again?”

“So? What’s that got to do with his emotional state?” Rossi, being the oldest and peace maker of the team could see this getting into a full-fledged fight, so decide to interrupt.

“Oh, thank you for bringing that up Emily. Would you like to tell them or can I have at least some privacy in that regard?” The sarcasm dripping from his voice was almost like acid and Emily visibly flinched at his words.

“Spence we’re just…” but JJ was cut off by the very person she was addressing.

“Just what JJ? I said I was fine. Here. Here’s some proof seen as you don’t believe me.” And he flicked something shiny in JJ’s direction who swiftly caught it and hid it from the other four’s sight just as fluently as she caught it. “See? Clean. You know what. Tell them if you want. They’re bound to find out at some point anyway.” The fire in Reid’s words had died down, being replaced instead by a defeated and exhausted sigh. “Just don’t expect me to contribute to the conversation.” With that he walked off to the furthest seat away, and Rossi could have sworn he saw tears falling down Reid’s cheeks. It wasn’t until Reid’s soft snores could be heard that the stunned and tense silence was lifted, Tara braving it this time.

“What was that about? And what did Reid mean by ‘Clean”?” It was what was on every-ones minds. The girls had a heated silent conversation before Emily finally decided to take charge of the conversation.

“Do you guys know of the Tobias Hankel case? He was a religious killer with DID?” The last sentence coming out as a question to see how much the team knew.

“The name sounds familiar. Wasn’t it a case in Georgia? I think I remember it being in the news before I came back from retirement.”(Rossi)

“Yeah he had like three personalities wasn’t it? His own, his fathers and an angels?”(Tara)

“I think Hotch mentioned the name on one of our joint cases in passing. He said it really shook you guys up.”(Simmons)

“Wait your team was on that case? Didn’t one of the…OHHH. That’s why you were so worried about Reid on this case.” (Alvez)

“You know the case Luke?”(Tara)

“Yeah I heard about it. No specifics were given for anonymity to the agents.”(Alvez)

“Why would anonymity be important for a case?”(Matt)

“The agents involved in cases are kept anonymous when something goes wrong on a case. In this instance it would be because an agent was held captive. And going by context and JJ and Emily’s worry for Reid on this case I’m going to put two and two together and guess that the agent was Reid? He would have been what? 23 or something at the time? Even more reason to keep those involved anonymous.”(Alvez)

“spence didn’t cope well in the after math of the case. He was young, held for two days and in the end shot the unsub himself after having a seizure. He actually died and there was nothing we could do to help. Even in his predicament he managed to send us clues but he still ended up saving himself. Reid blames himself because he made the decision to split up…”

“Hang on. Sorry but can we go in chronological order here please? My heads in a spin at the moment with the different events clearly not matching up in order.”

“Okay yeah that’d make more sense. Sorry.”

“We’ll go from the dogs seen as the rest is pretty much public knowledge. You guys okay with that?”

“Sure”

“No problem”

“Wherever you guys wanna start.”

“Go ahead”

“Well, Reid and I were sent to Tobias’s house. We thought he was just a witness to a prowler but later found out it was a way to gouge police response time. Reid and I went to question him about his report. In the meantime from what Hotch told me, the sheriff recognised the dogs that were in one of the videos as Tobias’s. Reid was the first out of us two to figure it out when Tobias refused him entry no matter how many times he said he had to pee. Well after that Reid went around the house and I followed. Reid I think looked into the house through the window. Next thing Reid’s telling me Tobias is the unsub and that we should split up because he went out the back and that way we would cover more ground. He ran off before I could process and follow him so I ended up in the barn a..an..and…”

“when we found JJ she had her gun in her hand and the dogs were dead. It took a while for me to calm her down while Morgan went looking for Reid but he was no where to be seen and neither was Tobias and Morgan had reported it looked like someone had been dragged. Garcia was flown in soon after we discovered the computer system. The same night an electronic store had been robbed which meant Tobias was able to post videos again. Aside from what we saw from the live feed Tobias was sending directly to his home computer we still don’t know exactly what happened and Reid won’t tell us either. The worst part was when we discovered Tobias had a drug problem. Dilaudid that he cut with a psychedelic. He would inject Reid to help with the pain but…”

“Dilaudid is a highly addictive drug. An overdose paired with a beating or an overdose by itself can cause seizures. He was streaming it to the team. But it also gave me the confirmation I needed as to the location. I was able to relay it cryptically to the team after Tobias gave me CPR. We went outside after that and the team got there. Their shouts distracted Tobias enough for me to be able to get the gun. It was Russian roulette though as it only had one bullet. I was just lucky it was in the current chamber. You guys wanna tell them the aftermath? Or should I continue?” everyone was shocked at the sound of Reid’s voice, not only interrupting the story but taking over it. As hollow as his voice was and how far away his gaze was it was still a shock.

“What would you prefer spence?”

“I don’t think it matters much. I doubt it even has to be said. Rossi came during the conclusion of it. And Matt, Tara, and Luke aren’t stupid. I’m sure they can infer from context what the aftermath was. Pair that with this case and you and Emily shooting me worried looks every five minutes and Emily’s observation from before that whole story. Plus I’m sure all of them have noticed I wont take narcotic painkillers when I end up in hospital I’d say it’s pretty self-explanatory. Oh and that coin I threw at JJ. So if anyone would like to share with the class what they conclude from that, be my guest. It’s all out in the open anyway after the whole Mexico fiasco.” Everyone could hear the exhaustion in Reid’s voice as well as….Was that self-loathing?

“Actually, now that I think about it, that coin means nothing after the whole Mexico fiasco.”

“That’s not true spence.”

“Yeah it is JJ. Using is using regardless of weather it was forced or not. Because it’s equally as easy to relapse. Just… I’m gonna try to get some sleep.” And with that Reid got up out of his seat and headed to the couch. Not all that caring about the bite that was in his voice when he spoke to JJ.

After they landed Reid made sure he was the first one out. The plane was feeling too claustrophobic and it felt like everyone’s eyes were on him, which they probably were. After getting home he went straight to sleep, both physically and mentally exhausted. Now the entire team knew.

It took two more months for someone to mention it directly to him. That person just so happened to be rossi.

“Hey Reid. Can I talk to you?”

“What about?” Instead of answering him, Rossi just raised an eyebrow and Reid instantly knew what this was about.

“I need a coffee.” Was Reid’s reply. And with that, they two men went into the break area to talk and get coffee.

“You know none of us see you as weak right?” Was that really how Rossi was gonna start this conversation? Well fine. Reid would play along for now.

“And you know that how Rossi? Last I checked you couldn’t read minds.”

“I know that, Reid, Because I know for a fact that if anyone of us had your life, child prodigy in a las Vegas high school that had an absentee father and a mentally ill mom, paired with and eidetic memory and bullies, as well as everything I know of that’s happened to you while working for the FBI and still taking care of and putting your mom first, none of us would have over come that. Especially with the drugs added in. Reid, not a lot of people have the will power or mental capability to not only go through what you did as a kid but also get over a drug addiction that was forced on you and not relapse. Now, what happened in Mexico, to me and the team, does not count as a relapse because you didn’t willingly or knowingly ingest the drugs. You are a lot stronger than any of Reid. Especially for someone worried about developing their mothers illness and for someone your age. I mean, overcoming an addiction at what? Twenty four? That takes willpower. Just think about it will ya?”

And with that Rossi left the break room leaving Reid to mull over Rossi’s words. It took another two months for Reid to see past his own frustration and self-loathing and realise that Rossi was right. He hadn’t seen it before, but the team, especially JJ, Emily and Rossi seemed to have a lot more pride in their gazes when they looked at him. And for once, Reid was okay with them finding out. He also realised that now that they knew about that aspect of his past, it was easier for them to look out for him. He felt at peace with the knowledge that they knew the full story.


End file.
